Stendhal

Stendhal is an MMOPRG that comes in a very light package and aims to offer a retro-fun experience. It first came to light more than ten years ago and since then it has kept plenty of players entertained in its vast world that has countless quests to embark on.

One of the things you notice or should notice and appreciate about Stendhal is the fact that you begin any kind of interaction with NPCs using a simple and friendly interjection, ‘hi’. After you trigger response from an NPC, you can interact with it by requesting help, job information and of course, quests.

What’s interesting about it all is that in order to obtain what you need you have to answer questions and specify requests by actually chatting with the NPC. It doesn't come down to elaborate conversations but it’s a simple concept that connects you to the game in a different way.

Controls, HUD interactions and gameplay are things you pick up really fast even if you’re new to MMOs, especially old-school ones. Visually, Stendhal might not impress you but for the retro style fans out there, it will certainly look more than good.

The game offers plenty of caves, towns, mines, cities and dungeons to explore, weapons and armors to equip, and over 250 NPCs to greet. For such a small package, Stendhal delivers a lot of content, even if it’s in low resolution. There’s a travel log to check up on progress and quest details, and you can even change the look of your character anytime you want without first having to find items.

To put things into perspective, Stendhal is a game that’s old enough to be appreciated by RPG fans that have been around for awhile or a newer generation which has a taste for the vintage look.

It’s a game with pros and cons but if you give it a chance, it will probably have you playing more than you initially expected. It’s the kind of game that grows on you.